...an award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics-from today and yesterday:all 32 Counties !Updated a number of times each week . (Mirror site here)

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"1169 And Counting is a wealth of information on our Republican past and present , and demonstrates how the Irish political landscape , like that of any nation, will never be a black and white issue..."

IRISH BLOG AWARDS 2017 - ooops! It seems that our entry application was "not completed in time to be considered.." (?) and, as such, we are not now in the running. But we wish all the best to the successful entrants and to the organisers, and we hope all goes well for them on the day!

Friday, June 09, 2006

A bus for this Commemoration , which is organised each year by the Republican Movement , will leave from outside the old McBirneys/Virgin Megastore site on Dublin's Aston Quay at 12.45PM on the day : the Commemoration itself starts at 2.30PM .

The same bus will leave Bodenstown at 5.30PM that afternoon on its return to Dublin city centre . The fare is ten Euro per person .

For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece(article starts on March 9 on that page) which was published on this blog last year . " From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation , and felt convinced that , while it lasted , this country could never be free nor happy . My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year , and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes . In consequence , I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move , in order to separate the two countries . That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke , I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found . In honourable poverty I rejected offers which , to a man in my circumstances , might be considered highly advantageous . I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen " .-Theobald Wolfe Tone .

David Trimble's submission stated : " The British Isles is divided into two sovereign states , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (sic) on the one hand , and the Republic of Ireland (sic) on the other . In international law there are and ought to be no constitutional issues between these two states . In so far as it does not already do so , the law and practice of each state should conform with the above statement . "

Andy Callaghan , like so many of the 'young hawks' in Fianna Fail , is not afraid to plough-in all his energy and resources when it comes to winning an election : he claims to have had 35 cars working for him on election day and some within the constituency maintain that he spent in the region of £10,000 on the campaign . Some of the fallout from that campaign was seen earlier this month when a case against his election agent , Seamus Concannon , for breach of the peace was adjourned until next month in Dublin's district court .

The incident involved Adele Ramsey's (young Andy's running-mate in Fianna Fail) father who alleges that Seamus Concannon , in a fit of temper , swerved his car at him while he was working under it ! Andy Callaghan recently widened his feud with the Ramseys by packing an Ogra Fianna Fail meeting with supporters and seeing off young Adele as Chairperson : the next round in this Crumlin feud is a libel action against two of Andy Callaghan's cumann members , as Adele strikes back .

THE RIGHT TO SILENCE.......Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act has just been renewed for another year by State Communications Minister Jim Mitchell , despite increasing protests and lobbying by the NUJ .HELEN O'CONNOR examines the results of a recent NIHE survey of the attitudes of Dublin people on the issue and GERRY LAVERY looks back to the roots of Section 31 . From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , February 1987 .

Sinn Fein are fielding 27 candidates in 24 constituencies in the coming election and are hopeful of winning seats on the transfers in three or four of these . Even though Sinn Fein is fielding this number of candidates it cannot conduct party political broadcasts on RTE since the (State) Supreme Court case in 1982 where that court upheld the right of the (State) Minister for Communications to prevent any such broadcasts .

At the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in November 1986 a motion was passed that all members would refuse to pay TV licence fees as an objection to Section 31 censorship and their exclusion from the airwaves . And even though the latest (State) Ministerial Order renewing Section 31 specifically bans '...the organisation styling itself Republican Sinn Fein ..' they are hoping that international pressure from the International Federation of Journalists who recently visited Ireland for the purpose of monitoring the operation of Section 31 and a United Nations group called 'Article 19' which investigates State Censorship in places like South Africa will at some stage put an end to what Sinn Fein's John Doyle calls the "...ridiculous silent movies of Sinn Fein press conferences.." .

Niall Meehan also says that international pressure will sway the groundswell of public opinion in Ireland about Section 31 ....... (MORE LATER).

Thursday, June 08, 2006

A bus for this Commemoration , which is organised each year by the Republican Movement , will leave from outside the old McBirneys/Virgin Megastore site on Dublin's Aston Quay at 12.45PM on the day : the Commemoration itself starts at 2.30PM .

The same bus will leave Bodenstown at 5.30PM that afternoon on its return to Dublin city centre . The fare is ten Euro per person .

For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece(article starts on March 9 on that page) which was published on this blog last year . " From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation , and felt convinced that , while it lasted , this country could never be free nor happy . My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year , and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes . In consequence , I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move , in order to separate the two countries . That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke , I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found . In honourable poverty I rejected offers which , to a man in my circumstances , might be considered highly advantageous . I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen " .-Theobald Wolfe Tone .

David Trimble has made considerable effort to calm himself down , flattening out an erratic voice , controlling to some degree his tendency to flush bright red when angry : but the strain on an undecided man of leading unenthusiastic followers is bound to show , something he occasionally comes close to acknowledging -

" We could , perhaps , have collapsed the talks by leaving , " Trimble said to his party conference , " I know that all of you , like me , were faced with a difficult decision . For many of us our hearts led one way and our heads the other . " The body language is disjointed as ever , presentation curt and defensive . Starting his keynote speech , he rubbed crossed hands swiftly up and down his forearms as though cold .

The speech included the Ulster Unionist Party submission delivered to Stormont during the pre-conference week , on the 'constitutional issues' in Strands two and Three - meant to find mutual accommodation on cross-border and British-Irish relations . Trimble then read that submission to his party's delegates : it was a short submission , and one which prompted a young party assistant , a Mr. Stephen King , to comment on Trimble "...getting it all wrong ..".......(MORE LATER).

Andy Callaghan's introduction to more 'usual' politics came with his involvement , along with barrister friends Jerry Danaher and Adrian Hardiman , in Sile De Valera's campaigns in Dublin South and subsequently in her search for a seat in Clare .

Brought up in Crumlin , Dublin , Andy Callaghan joined the local Wolfe Tone Cumann of Fianna Fail after the re-organisation of the Dublin South-Central constituency as part of Fianna Fail's 'Operation Dublin' back in 1983 : he failed to get a nomination for the local elections in the constituency but , being the pushy type of lad he is , he persuaded Fianna Fail Head Office in Mount Street , Dublin , to add his name to the ticket . After a ' blitzkreig'- like campaign (' Andy Callaghan challenges Fine Gael' posters etc) the bould Andy pulled in 1,421 first preference votes and , riding on the swing to Fianna Fail , was elected to Dublin Corporation .

Not the least surprised at this result was Adele Ramsey , young Andy's eighteen-year-old running mate , who felt the brunt of his campaign and whose 1,000 or so transfers ironically enough elected him . Personalised canvassing was rife , and young Andy's large hoardings adorned almost every house facing each of the six polling-stations until Fianna Fail Director of Elections , Dorrine Kelly , intervened.......(MORE LATER).

THE RIGHT TO SILENCE.......Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act has just been renewed for another year by State Communications Minister Jim Mitchell , despite increasing protests and lobbying by the NUJ .HELEN O'CONNOR examines the results of a recent NIHE survey of the attitudes of Dublin people on the issue and GERRY LAVERY looks back to the roots of Section 31 . From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , February 1987 .

The supporters of the Progressive Democrats did not approve of Section 31 censorship by the narrowest of margins - 40 per cent approval , 46.7 per cent disapproval , but Stephen O' Byrnes was adament that those figures did not accurately reflect PD party policy on the matter : " We are in favour of the retention of Section 31 , " he said .

Also , Stephen O' Byrnes would not accept the figures of seven to three who were in favour of allowing Sinn Fein on RTE , as Sinn Fein were 'the unarmed wing of the IRA' as far as the PD party was concerned , and had ' ruled themselves out' because they were 'part time democrats' . He did put one 'rider' to this statement , however , because of a statement made recently by Progressive Democrat leader Dessie O' Malley : where Sinn Fein were actually elected to Local Authorities and had been voted into Office they should then be given the opportunity to discuss "...purely local.." issues on RTE . Arguably , this policy might extend to representatives of Sinn Fein who might find themselves elected to Leinster House at some future date ....... ('1169....' Comment : no 'representative of Sinn Fein [proper]' would ever stand for election , as a sitting member , to Leinster House , as presently constituted .)(MORE LATER).

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

A bus for this Commemoration , which is organised each year by the Republican Movement , will leave from outside the old McBirneys/Virgin Megastore site on Dublin's Aston Quay at 12.45PM on the day : the Commemoration itself starts at 2.30PM .

The same bus will leave Bodenstown at 5.30PM that afternoon on its return to Dublin city centre . The fare is ten Euro per person .

For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece(article starts on March 9 on that page) which was published on this blog last year . " From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation , and felt convinced that , while it lasted , this country could never be free nor happy . My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year , and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes . In consequence , I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move , in order to separate the two countries . That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke , I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found . In honourable poverty I rejected offers which , to a man in my circumstances , might be considered highly advantageous . I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen " .-Theobald Wolfe Tone .

From top to bottom , Ulster (sic) unionists view the Stormont talks as a threat , not as a 'promise' : at Stormont , most other groups think that far from developing a commitment to negotiation , David Trimble has been trapped - 'sandbagged' , first , by the collapse of the (Westminster) Conservatives , then steadily squeezed by the (P)IRA's snap re-instatement of their ceasefire , pressure from Tony Blair's government , US White House coaxing , and a growing but still only semi-coherent grassroots and middle-level belief among his own Ulster Unionist Party that they face a worse future if no one represents them in negotiations .

The outcome is evident in the behaviour in talks of the UUP : " They are still in two minds , as if they had just wakened up and found that they're in there , " says one observer . On October 25 last , in Newcastle , County Down , the party's annual conference was more relaxed than in recent years , but neither speeches nor delegates' behaviour suggested whole-heartedness . Critics pulled punches , like M.P. Willie Ross , or stayed silent like M.P. Willie Thompson . Several talks participants , including David Trimble , assured the hall that though sharing a building with 'Sinn Fein/IRA' they were not negotiating with them and certainly not 'fraternising' with them , as Trimble put it .

There were wry smiles at the absence of UUP Deputy Leader John Taylor , enigmatic as always , scheduled to lead off the sole conference debate on the talks process , but unable to attend due to illness , the platform announced . Taylor was Trimble's chief rival in the contest that decided the party leadership and never hides his opinion of the David Trimble 'style' - " I say to David , you really must calm down..." , he told a BBC TV 'profile' programme , chortling while he done so .......(MORE LATER).

In a speech he made at the Edentubber Martyrs Commemoration in November 1975 , Andy Callaghan stated - " It (Fianna Fail) has spat on every known republican principle and yet has the gall to proclaim that they are guardians of a heroic line from Vinegar Hill to Edentubber . We (he was still with Sinn Fein then !) left it to Jack Lynch to make speeches , we left it to the Stickies to read books on the theory of 'World Revolution' . The rattle of one Thompson is worth more than a library of Marxist pamphlets. "

However , Andy was only 20 at this time : like one or two others who have since joined Fianna Fail , he became disillusioned with the direction the armed struggle was taking and he often cites the Le Mon bombings as his reason for disengaging from Sinn Fein : another reason for quitting was that he had begun to teach English at the C.U.S. School , Leeson Street , Dublin , in 1978 - he did his H.Diploma there and remained on the full-time staff until 1983 , when he left his teaching post (in June of that year) , a little over a year after his father's death , and joined his brother Joe in the family's painting and decorating business .

That business is moderately successful and , ironically , last year (ie 1985) picked-up a contract to paint the Curragh (Free State) Army Camp - that one-time prison for republicans....... (MORE LATER).

THE RIGHT TO SILENCE.......Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act has just been renewed for another year by State Communications Minister Jim Mitchell , despite increasing protests and lobbying by the NUJ .HELEN O'CONNOR examines the results of a recent NIHE survey of the attitudes of Dublin people on the issue and GERRY LAVERY looks back to the roots of Section 31 . From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , February 1987 .

General Secretary of the (Free State) Labour Party , Ray Kavanagh , calls Charlie Haughey's statements about the possible lifting of Section 31 censorship"...mere opportunism.." - according to Kavanagh , if Charlie Haughey ever got into power he would do exactly what he said he would do and seek the advice of the State's 'security advisors' : " And what would they say ? They would say 'No' . And that would be the end of Fianna Fail getting rid of Section 31. "

As for the Labour Party supporters polled in relation to Section 31 censorship , seven out of every ten disapproved of the restrictions imposed by the Act , and the same number favoured giving Sinn Fein access to the airwaves . The Labour Party does not have a current policy on this form of censorship ('1169...' Comment : if it affected them , policy on the issue would be coming out their ears!) but the matter is coming up for debate at their conference in May , 1987 : " There are opposing views inside the party . You can take it for granted that if we were very much against it , we'd be saying so , " , says Ray Kavanagh who , when asked , cannot remember any Labour Party leader coming out with any statement on the matter for the eleven years that he has been a member !

The poll also showed that Progressive Democrat supporters were not of the same mind as their party leadership in relation to Section 31 censorship....... (MORE LATER).

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

A bus for this Commemoration , which is organised each year by the Republican Movement , will leave from outside the old McBirneys/Virgin Megastore site on Dublin's Aston Quay at 12.45PM on the day : the Commemoration itself starts at 2.30PM .

The same bus will leave Bodenstown at 5.30PM that afternoon on its return to Dublin city centre . The fare is ten Euro per person .

For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece(article starts on March 9 on that page) which was published on this blog last year . " From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation , and felt convinced that , while it lasted , this country could never be free nor happy . My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year , and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes . In consequence , I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move , in order to separate the two countries . That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke , I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found . In honourable poverty I rejected offers which , to a man in my circumstances , might be considered highly advantageous . I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen " .-Theobald Wolfe Tone .

One month on , many in the North of Ireland are still amazed that unionists are now inside a talks process in Stormont's Castle Buildings with the (Provisional) IRA's political wing , (Provisional) Sinn Fein .

Outside the talks , Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble is berated at supposedly 'United Unionist' rallies organised by the 'Reverend' Ian Paisley and the M.P. Bob McCartney , for being duped by 'pan-nationalism' . A series of past leaders have trembled , then fallen , under such attacks : but the rallies have drawn steadily smaller crowds .

As importantly for Trimble's nerve , the mood at his party's annual conference (on October 25 last) suggested that staying in the talks meets general 'Ulster Unionist Party' acceptance . But not their enthusiasm ....... (MORE LATER).

Andy Callaghan , or rather 'Aindreas O' Ceallachain' as he was then known , joined Sinn Fein while at UCD , which was "...in the wake of Bloody Sunday... " , as he puts it himself . His rise to the top within the Movement was quickly aided by a leadership anxious to approve of his undoubted rhetorical skills , and he became a member of the Ard Comhairle (party leadership) in 1976 and again in 1977 .

His oration at Maire Drumm's graveside , after her assassination in hospital in October 1976 , was the highpoint in a long list of speaking engagements for young Andy .

That speech was unremarkable , at what was a low-key Republican funeral , although there was a firing party : indeed , the most memorable ingredient of that occasion was the presence of British actress Vanessa Redgrave . An earlier speech which Andy Callaghan made , in November 1975 , leaves him with a lot more explaining to do to his new-found friends in Fianna Fail ....... (MORE LATER).

THE RIGHT TO SILENCE.......Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act has just been renewed for another year by State Communications Minister Jim Mitchell , despite increasing protests and lobbying by the NUJ .HELEN O'CONNOR examines the results of a recent NIHE survey of the attitudes of Dublin people on the issue and GERRY LAVERY looks back to the roots of Section 31 . From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , February 1987 .

Six out of every ten Fianna Fail voters disapproved of Section 31 censorship , and eight out of every ten Fianna Fail supporters favoured allowing Sinn Fein access to the media . These figures are proof of Fianna Fail's shaky stance on Section 31 in the last few weeks , according to Niall Meehan -

" Fianna Fail have traditionally a more working class vote in the Dublin area than either Fine Gael or the PD's , so they have more to lose by denying Sinn Fein access , because Sinn Fein are at their strongest in those areas of Dublin. "

John Doyle of Sinn Fein stated - " With increased Sinn Fein community work in working class Dublin , Fianna Fail are certainly feeling the pinch . " Doyle says that Fianna Fail had to do all in their power to win back support that might have gone Sinn Fein's way so they had to be seen to make some moves on the Section 31 restriction . And those Fianna Fail 'moves' in relation to that censorship Act left Charlie Haughey and Fianna Fail open to an attack from other Leinster House organisations .......(MORE LATER).

Monday, June 05, 2006

A bus for this Commemoration , which is organised each year by the Republican Movement , will leave from outside the old McBirneys/Virgin Megastore site on Dublin's Aston Quay at 12.45PM on the day : the Commemoration itself starts at 2.30PM .

The same bus will leave Bodenstown at 5.30PM that afternoon on its return to Dublin city centre . The fare is ten Euro per person .

For information on the death of Wolfe Tone , scroll through this piece(article starts on March 9 on that page) which was published on this blog last year . " From my earliest youth I have regarded the connection between Great Britain and Ireland as the curse of the Irish nation , and felt convinced that , while it lasted , this country could never be free nor happy . My mind has been confirmed in this opinion by the experience of every succeeding year , and the conclusions which I have drawn from every fact before my eyes . In consequence , I was determined to employ all the powers which my individual efforts could move , in order to separate the two countries . That Ireland was not able of herself to throw off the yoke , I knew ; I therefore sought for aid wherever it was to be found . In honourable poverty I rejected offers which , to a man in my circumstances , might be considered highly advantageous . I remained faithful to what I thought the cause of my country , and sought in the French Republic an ally to rescue three millions of my countrymen " .-Theobald Wolfe Tone .

MacGIOLLA's GUERRILLAS .......Fifteen years ago , the leadership of the 'Official Republican Movement' (now 'The Workers' Party') stated that their armed wing , the 'Official IRA' , went out of existence .Today , the 'Official IRA' is alive and well and living mainly in Belfast and Newry . In the days when both organisations were operating in an overt way , the leadership of 'The Workers' Party' and the 'Official IRA' overlapped to a certain degree . Tomas MacGiolla , the man who led the 'Official IRA' for the last twenty-five years has always maintained the position that the 'Official IRA' went out of existence in 1972 . But the 'Official IRA' still march on , not an army fighting the British , but as a fund-collecting agency . DEREK DUNNE traces the roots of the 'Official IRA' and 'The Workers' Party' .From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , October 1987 .

With the passing of Tomas MacGiolla from the leadership , The Workers' Party is in a way signalling a change of direction ; the leadership of that party claims that the Official IRA 'went out of existance after 1972' - yet , the fact remains that in the 1980's there are people appearing in court claiming to be members of this 'non-existant' organisation .

The question is not really whether or not the Official IRA exists : the question is what they are now doing with their guns - it would appear from their behaviour in Newry and Belfast that they have sunk to an all-time low and have degenerated , just as their INLA counterparts have degenerated , into self-motivated thugs .

Both the Official IRA and the INLA are two parts of the same monster that came out of the split with the Provos in 1969/1970 - the Official IRA are not armed to support their politics . The question posed at the Mornington conference in relation to militarists turning towards politics has never really been fully resolved .[END of 'MacGIOLLA's GUERRILLAS' .](Tomorrow : 'THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT-The 'Peace Talks' ' - from 1997.)

One of the more curious young Turk's mingling among the ranks of the 'Soldiers of Destiny' during last weekend's Ard Fheis ('annual meeting') was Councillor Andy Callaghan .

Thirty-year-old Andy was formerly a bright star in Sinn Fein , but he was elected to Dublin Corporation on the Fianna Fail 'ticket' in Crumlin , Dublin , last June (ie 1985) . Now he is pushing very hard for a nomination in Dublin South Central .

THE RIGHT TO SILENCE.......Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act has just been renewed for another year by State Communications Minister Jim Mitchell , despite increasing protests and lobbying by the NUJ .HELEN O'CONNOR examines the results of a recent NIHE survey of the attitudes of Dublin people on the issue and GERRY LAVERY looks back to the roots of Section 31 . From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine , February 1987 .

A just-published survey of the attitude of the Dublin population to Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act , by Niall Meehan and Jean Horgan of the 'National (sic) Institute of Higher Education' in Dublin concludes that only the supporters of Fine Gael are in favour of Section 31 , and only then by a small percentage gap .

The survey covers an area where ninty per-cent of the population have acess to BBC and ITV where no such reporting restrictions exists , and ironically , most cable viewers get these foreign channels relayed to them by a subsidiary of RTE itself !

Overall , the survey finds that fifty-three per-cent of all Dublin people dis-approve of Section 31 censorship and that over three-quarters of all people polled thought it should not apply to Local or General Election candidates , no matter what their creed or politics : one question specifically enquired as to whether Sinn Fein should be allowed express their opinion on RTE and all party supporters right across the board were in favour of allowing that ....... (MORE LATER).